


Family Portrait

by okidokioopsie (norwegianssweethearts)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Divorce, F/M, Feelings, Future Fic, Miscommunication, Sadness, parenting, they broke up, they have 3 kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-07 18:52:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13441077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/norwegianssweethearts/pseuds/okidokioopsie
Summary: Betty and Jughead may have failed their marriage, but they try not to fail their divorce, for the sake of their three adorable children.Three months after their split is the first time they see each other again. When Betty sees him, she realizes that Jughead is fine and has his life together, when she still cries herself to sleep every day.When Jughead sees her, he realizes he will never be able to love someone as much as he loves his wife and that’s why he can’t let her know the only thing he wants is to kiss her.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Here is the first chapter of my new fic “Family portrait”.  
> if someone reads this and wants to beta this story, please contact me. It would help me a lot!

When Betty hears the door open, she instantly drops what she’s doing in the kitchen and goes to the hallway. Her house is suddenly filled with noise and she feels like she’s alive for the first time since Friday night. She wonders if he feels like that when it’s not his turn to have the kids too.

“Moooom” Arthur screams when he sees her. He runs towards her and hugs her tight. He’s quickly followed by Adam and April. She closes her eyes for a few seconds, enjoying having her children with her. 

“Hi, Betty” Archie comes closer.

“Hi, Arch. Thanks for bringing the kids here” she replies. Archie gives her a tiny reassuring smile. 

“No problem, Betty. I just —” he doesn’t really know how to say that without hurting his friend. “I just think you should not always rely on me or Ronnie to exchange your kids, you know? You’ve been separated for three months. I think you should at least… talk. I’m taking Ronnie to New-York next weekend and…”

“Of course, no problem. We’ll find another solution, Archie. Have fun in New-York and tell Veronica I’ll give her a call.”

Her tone indicates that she’s done talking and Archie knows that she doesn’t want to talk about Jughead with him anyway, so he gives up. He gives everyone a kiss and goes back home. 

She takes care of the children and listens to them telling her all about their weekend with their dad with a smile on her face. When they are all asleep and the house is clean, she prepares herself a cup of tea that she drinks in front of the TV. Then she goes to the bathroom, cleans her face, brushes her teeth and brushes her hair. She lays down on her bed and it’s only when she turns the lights off that she lets herself cry.  

* * *

At first, she wants to text Jughead that she would like to have Arthur, Adam and April with her this next weekend to avoid exchanging the kids with him in person. Betty Jones is not a liar, though and she can’t deny her kids a weekend with their father out of convenience. The kids love their dad, love going to his place every weekend. She just has to suck it up and face her soon to be ex-husband.

When she and the kids settle in a booth at Pop’s, she is wearing a yellow dress that shows a bit of her cleavage, paired with a flannel shirt and boots. She can’t deny that she chose this outfit because Jughead loved seeing her in a dress. Maybe he still loves that. (he does.)

She orders three milkshakes and Pops gives her another glass for April, as usual. 

She’s busy helping her daughter drink her milkshake when she hears the bell ringing. She quickly glances at the door. 

Jughead. Jughead is wearing his Serpent jacket, a shirt she bought him and black jeans. Jughead is clean shaven. He smiles when he sees them and the kids leave the booth to run to him. He kneels down in front of them to hug them. He gives each of them a kiss and leads them to the booth.

When Jughead sees her, he realizes he will never be able to love someone as much as he loves his wife and that’s why he can’t let her know the only thing he wants is to kiss her because he has to respect her decision to divorce. She said that she couldn’t do it anymore. The last thing he wants for her is to get back with him out of pity. 

“Hi, Betts” he whispers, before sliding in the booth in front of Betty. He scoots over to let the boys sit down next to him. Arthur cuddles up with his father. 

Betty knows that Arthur has a hard time dealing with their separation. She smiles shyly at the scene. Her eyes land on Jughead who’s smiling. That smile is bright. She can’t help but look at his eyes, looking for any sign of discomfort or lack of sleep but she doesn’t see any. Jughead is fine. 

“Hi Jug” she says back. “I had to order them milkshakes but I’ve paid for them. I’m gonna go” she tries hard to not let her voice betray her emotions. 

Jughead looks at her in the eyes and nods. She takes her purse and kisses April’s forehead when she hears Arthur sighing. She looks at her son.

“Can’t you stay a bit?” he mumbles. 

She looks back at Jughead, who shrugs. “Yeah, Betty you should stay.”

“Can we have burgers?” Adam asks and she’s gonna say no when Jughead agrees. “Yeah, buddy. We can do that.” 

“I finally settled in my new place so I wanted to talk to you. Could we start doing like planned, a full week each? The new trailer is great, much more convenient for them. I even manage to find a way for the boys to have their own room.”

“That’s great. We can start next week, then. You’ll be able to bring them to school every day?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m only teaching 3 hours a day this year, so I have more time for the kids” he explains. 

“And more time for your novel, too.” she puts her hands under her legs.

“Oh, well. I’ve finished it, actually”

Oh. Splitting up helped him fight his writer block then. Fine. Everything is fine. She gulps and bites her lips hard to keep the tears away and nods.

“Wow, that’s great, Juggie”  she chokes out. “I should definitely get going because I still have things to do at home. I’ll see you on Sunday, kids” 

She gets up and gives Arthur, Adam and April a kiss before disappearing.  

Jughead glances at her quickly when she passes the door and then he takes her place next to April who needs help to finish her milkshake.

It’s unsettling how much April looks like Betty. She has the same lips, the same hair colour. April has also her mother personality. She is just 3 years old and Jughead can already see her strong personality. When she has something on her mind, April doesn’t give up.

As much as it can be difficult sometimes, he loves that Betty gave parts of her to their kids. 

He loves that Arthur is as selfless as Betty and how Adam inherited more Betty’s wittiness. Even if Betty isn’t his anymore, he can have a bit of her with him through those three beautiful children.

 

The kids love the new trailer and are very excited about their new rooms. Adam even declares that it is really fun to have two rooms. Arthur doesn’t really agree but Jughead promises to bring him to the store during the weekend so that he can choose his room decoration. The promise gets Jughead a smile from his son and it counts it a win.

 

He had to accept that Betty meant every word she said to him and that she didn’t want to be his wife anymore. Dealing with his huge writer block was the last straw for her and Jughead understands that. When she told him one night that he had to go, to leave the house, he didn’t even put up a fight; he knew that she was serious and that she didn’t act out of impulse. She had thought about it. She wanted a divorce and the best proof of his love he could give her was to give her one.  The first few weeks after that terrible night, he thought there was a slight chance for this situation to be temporary. He thought that Betty would give him another chance but he had to let this hope go for his own sake. He had to accept her decision as it is without torturing himself.   

 

He prepares dinner while the kids play in the living room, which consists of reheating homemade lasagna - bless Toni Topaz’s cooking skills. They eat in the kitchen and then he gives them their daily bath. Soon, it’s time for them to go to bed. He reads them a story each before kissing their foreheads and leaves their room. 

He wants to watch a movie but it seems pointless without Betty’s commentaries, so he goes straight to bed.

* * *

 

When Betty comes home, the only thing she wants to do is crawling into her bed but when she parks her car, she notices that Kevin’s bike is there. She sighs. She isn’t really in the mood to talk to Kevin.

 

Kevin greets her with a beaming smile and a “Hi Betty! I’ve come with ice cream and tequila” and Betty cannot suppress her smile.

“Hello, Kev’. You have to stop stealing your boy’s Serpent jacket.” she jokes. When the words are out, she realizes that she used to steal Jughead’s all the time because, despite appearances, those jackets are comfy. (and when you’re dating a Serpent, you slowly start to feel like one too.) 

Kevin, thinking about the same thing as Betty, doesn’t reply and just follows her to the living room. 

She throws her keys and her purse on the console table and sits down on the sofa.

“It’s okay, Kevin. You can call Ron and tell her I won’t drown my sorrows in alcohol just because I don’t have my kids this weekend.” 

Kevin sits down next to her. “Hey, I know it’s hard to see them go with Jug. Fangs is with Sweet Pea, so please keep me company so that I don’t drown my sorrows in alcohol?” he puts his hand on hers. She nods. 

“We can still drink one glass of Tequila or two, right?” 

Kevin opens the bottle. 

 

After a couple of glasses, Betty starts rambling. “He finished his book, Kevin, did you know that? He spent the last few months of our relationship cursing his writer block. He couldn’t think of anything else! He even stopped eating with the kids and I. He left me going to bed alone to fight that stupid writer block and the moment I said that I had enough, he left the house and just like that, his writer block was gone? Fuck. Fuck him. Fuck Jughead Jones.” 

 

Kevin doesn’t tell her that Jughead finished his book the night she asked him to leave.

* * *

 

Jughead spends the weekend with his children. As promised, he brings them to the store so that they can choose decorations for their respective rooms. He wants the three kids to feel like home in the trailer. He knows it lacks the warmth of their house, but he wants them to feel comfortable. After all, he will probably live there for a long time. 

That thought alone scares him more than he can admit. He never saw himself living that life - the one FP lived after his mom moved to Toledo. He doesn’t want to live in a trailer all alone like his dad does. FP doesn’t seem to mind - he had a few partners over the years, but he never wanted to take the next step and lived with them. Now when he looks at his father, he sees his future. 

Living alone in a trailer in the Southside, going to the Whyte Wyrm a few days a week to chat with his fellow Serpents, find one or two women to fuck once in a while to get some affection (maybe one day he will be able to look at another woman), expecting his kids for the traditional Sunday brunch, seeing Betty for the kid’s Birthdays.  He thought it would never happen to him, but it did. His wife left him like his mom left his dad and he has to live with that.

FP always points out how different their situations are. Jughead isn’t addicted, Betty didn’t move to another city. He still can take care of his children as much as he wants. To Jughead, it still feels like a failure. 

He takes the kids to the park and even goes for a walk with them. They make pizza and watch Disney movies. The kids laugh a lot and seem happy like they should be. Betty’s absence taints everything for Jughead. He puts a brave face on for his children’s sake because he doesn’t want them to know how much the situation is hurting him. He knows too well what it is like to have divorced parents. 

On Sunday night, he drives them back to the house, their house. Betty is already waiting for them on the porch. God, she’s beautiful. She has let her hair down and is wearing a cute black dress. Jughead’s eyes linger a bit on her legs but he quickly shakes himself. He doesn’t really have the right to look at her this way anymore. 

He climbs out of the car to let April out of her seat, and waves at Betty. He gives the bags to Arthur and Adam and gives them a kiss.

“Goodbye babies. I’ll see you next week. Promise me to be good to your mom and behave, ok?” 

“Why don’t you come with us?” Arthur asks with a hint of sadness in his voice. “Say hi to Mommy” 

Jughead takes April’s hand and gestures the older boys to start walking. 

When he reaches the porch, he gives Betty an awkward smile. “Arthur wanted me to say hi” he excuses himself. 

She smiles at him, taking the boys into her arms. “Hi babes. Hi Jug” 

She takes April in her arms. The boys quickly drop their bags to run in the garden. Jughead and Betty stand face to face awkwardly for a few seconds.

“Everything went well?” she asks.

“Oh, yeah. We had a lot of fun, haven’t we, darling?” he touches April’s face to get her attention. 

“I should…” he doesn’t finish his sentence. He kisses his daughter and goes to his sons to say goodbye, then he goes back to his car and leaves without looking at Betty. She waits until she doesn’t see the car anymore to go inside. 

 

* * *

 

He drives straight to the Whyte Wyrm. As he expected, Toni is there. 

“Hi, Jones. What’s up?”

“Just dropped the kids at the house. I need a distraction” 

“I see. You’ve seen Betty, right? How is she?”

“Beautiful as ever” he sighs. 

Toni rolls her eyes. “Oh, God. Your crush on your wife could be cute if you weren’t broken up” 

“Please don’t remind me,” he says.

“You know you could just call her and tell her that you’re sorry for the way you acted and that you want to have another chance, right?” 

Jughead bites his lips. “I remember now why I always go to see Archie when I need a distraction.” 

“I’m serious, Jug. I know you think that a divorce is what she wants but trust me, she doesn’t. She loves you. It’s not Betty aesthetic to be a single mom with three kids. She would take you back if you tried to fight for her. She loves her family”

“That’s exactly why I can’t beg her to stay married to me, Toni. I don’t want her to stay with me because of the kids, like her parents”

“Well, you know what I think anyway. You’re a stubborn idiot.” 

“ Can we just drop it?”

Toni rolls her eyes once more and nods.


	2. Two

 

Betty never acts out of impulse. Every little decision she makes is reflected, planned and conscious.

Breaking up with her husband was not. She reached a breaking point and was too sad and disappointed that she said something along the lines of _‘I don't even know if I want to be your wife anymore Jughead. Maybe we should divorce. Maybe you should go’_. She doesn't remember exactly what she said because she hadn't rehearsed her speech. In her head, it sounded like a possibility. She wanted to scare Jughead, to make him understand that their relationship was not a given. She thought he would fight and tell her that a divorce was out of the question and that they would work it out together. Instead, Jughead nodded and told her he would move out as soon as possible. He took his laptop and his car and he never came back. Archie, Sweet Pea, and Fangs came to take his belongings and he texted her that he would like to see the kids every weekend until he found a new apartment and after that, they could share custody evenly. She agreed because there was nothing else to say. Jughead was reasonable and didn't ask for more than she would have given.

Betty has just come back from her run when Alice knocks on her door. She looks at Betty from head to toe and gives her a smile.

“I won't have the pleasure to see my grandkids today?” she asks, even if she knows full well that it's Jughead’s week.

Betty pours a glass of water for her mother and nods. “you know it's Jugs turn to have them”

“Elizabeth, you know that with his past and his involvement with The Serpents, he would not have shared custody if you would just take the divorce to court. A judge would not approve of your little arrangement” Alice’s tone conveys her disdain and makes Betty sigh.

“mom, I explicitly told you that I do not wish to have full custody of the kids. Jughead is a great father. He separates his life with the Serpents from his personal life. I would never deny my children the joy to spend as much time as possible with him. Case closed. ”

Alice looks at her daughter and is about to reply something when Betty gives her a look that shuts her up.

She doesn't stay long after that. Alice and Betty are getting along just fine but her mother never really respected her decision to build her life with Jughead.

 ______

 

A whole week with three kids is exhausting. Jughead would have never guessed that three kids in a trailer could make such a mess. It never seemed too much when he had Betty on his side because she had a perfect organization. Being raised by Alice Cooper leaves traces.

Let’s say that organization is not FP’s forte. 

Jughead is trying to clean up the mess the kids left before going back to Betty’s, when Veronica walks in, unannounced.

“Jones!” she yells, trying to get Jug’s attention despite the vacuum’s noise.

Jughead turns over and jumps with surprise. He turns off the machine.

“Ronnie, what are you doing here?”

“Hello to you too, my friend.”

“Hi, Ron,” he replies.

“I just came back from New-York. The editor loved your book, Jug. Do you have time to discuss it now?”

Jughead takes his keys from the counter. “I’m starving. Pop’s?”

Veronica rolls her eyes at him and sighs loudly to express her exasperation but she follows him.

Veronica and Jughead didn’t have the best start. At first, they were more acquaintances than friends. They would only spend time together when Archie or Betty - or both - was with them. The feud between their families didn’t help their case. Betty sided with him, Archie with his girlfriend. Their significant other became more important than their friends.

Jughead didn’t want to lose Archie, Veronica didn’t want to lose Betty so they tried to put their families problems aside and find a middle ground.

Jughead wrote his first novel and his editor said that he had to find an agent, someone whom he trusted and who could negotiate good deals for him and as a sign of truce and forgiveness, Jughead asked Veronica, who accepted immediately.

Veronica has his best interests at heart and is a fierce businesswoman. She worked as hard as he did to get him where he is now, but that doesn’t mean that the teasing and fake annoyance has to stop.

“So, Jake loved your book. He wants it to be published ASAP. He said that we have already waited for enough so he’s trying to speed up the whole process” Veronica explains when they’re settled in a booth with their food.   

Jughead nods.

“Okay”

Veronica takes a bite of her hamburger because even though she would never admit it, she is starving as much as Jughead.

“How was your week with the kids?”

“Great.” he smiles. “I managed to keep them alive, you know”

Veronica bites her lips nervously and lets out a breath.

“I read it, you know” she finally tells him and as soon as the words are out, she feels relieved.

Jughead almost chokes on his hamburger.

“You read my book?” he repeats, just to be sure. Veronica never reads what he writes, it’s like the law. She will help him sell his work like it’s a masterpiece every time, without reading it.

“Yes, I did. I wanted to understand why you finished your book in such little time after months of writer block. It’s about Betty.” She doesn’t need to ask him because it’s obvious.

“When have I ever written something that was not about her, Ronnie?”

He focuses on his plate, not wanting to see his friend’s reaction. It’s only the truth, every book he has written, every article he has submitted, was inspired by her.

“Oh, Jug” Veronica knows how much Jughead loves Betty; it has always been obvious. The tragedy unfolding in front of her eyes is saddening her more than she thought it would. The stubbornness of both of her friends makes her feel helpless but at the same time, she understands where they’re coming from.

Betty had a right to put a stop to all of this, Jughead has a right to accept Betty’s decision. She knows that talking together would help them greatly but be their friend also means respecting their choice not to.

_______

 Betty can’t believe that the dishwasher has decided to give up today. It almost feels unfair. She can fix cars easily, fixing a damn dishwasher should be no trouble for her. Except obviously, it is, because life hates her with a passion now.

Trying to fix the problem, she made it worse and now there is water everywhere in the kitchen and she needs help as soon as possible. It’s a difficult thing to admit because she loves her independence but this is an emergency.

She thinks that her situation might be a comeback from Karma because Archie doesn’t answer his phone. Veronica would be helpless in this situation, Kevin is working, she doesn’t have Fangs phone number for some reason - she makes a mental note to ask Kevin to give it to her - and her dad would tell her mom that he helped her and Alice would lecture her about how living alone with three kids is not feasible.

She contemplates the disaster in the kitchen for a bit before dialing Jughead. The world hates her that much. 

She hears worry in his voice when he picks up but even when she reassures him that there is no danger and that the problem doesn’t involve the kids, he tells her he will be here in no time.

He arrives in ten minutes and she can’t help but wonder where he was to be this close to the house. She schools herself quickly; she has no right to know anymore.

He looks at the kitchen and sighs but doesn’t say anything.

They fix the dishwasher together and then he insists on helping her clean the mess.

He doesn’t even ask; he goes straight to the closet where all the cleaning supplies are stored because he knows where they are because it used to be his home too. It’s almost painful to watch him like someone had stabbed her and is rubbing salt in the wound.

She should suggest making coffee. There are waffles ready somewhere and she knows that Jughead loves waffles so it would be the right thing to do but her mouth doesn’t seem to cooperate. Every time she opens her mouth to say something, not a sound can be heard.

When the kitchen is cleaned, Jughead stands up awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“I think you should probably call a professional, you know. I think we fixed the problem but well…”

“Yes, of course. I will have someone check if it’s all good”

She counts the seconds of silence. God, she hates it. The silence used to be calming, comfortable. Now, all she can feel is the tension and the wall they built between them.

“I should probably start heading home” he finally says, smiling a bit at her.

She remembers telling him those exact same words once when they were teenagers.

She smiles at him and flutters her eyelashes like she would have done a few months ago.

“Or you could stay…. stay.” she sees him taking a huge breath and she knows that he knows.

She just flirted with her ex-husband, life certainly hates her.

Jughead looks almost hopeful. He bites his inner lips.

“I mean, Arthur and Adam will be home soon. Stay for a snack. I have waffles ready”

The hope in Jughead’s eyes is gone but he nods anyway.

Arthur and Adam are more than happy to see their dad. The smiles on their faces warm Betty’s heart. She almost wishes she hadn’t agreed to let Alice have April for the day.

She misses having him around. She misses witnessing him interacting with the kids, the way he always makes sure to let them know that he’s listening, that he’s 100% with them.  

Arthur wants Jughead to help him with his homework, so Jughead spends a little more time with his children.

He’s about to go home when Alice enters the house with April. The little girl jumps in her dad’s arms.

Alice frowns when she spots him and gives him a side look, as usual.

“Jughead”

“Alice”

“May I ask what you are doing here?”

Jughead looks at April who’s trying to show him something.

He dodges the question easily by telling her he’s leaving.

Alice joins her daughter in the kitchen.

“Elizabeth, why are you allowing him into your home?” she says as if Jughead has a criminal record and was here to hide a corpse in the basement.

“Because it’s his home, mom”

_____

Double dates used to be a thing but now, inviting Archie and Veronica together seems too weird. It reminds Betty a bit too much that she doesn’t have a significant other anymore, that in a way, she lost Jughead, even though he just lives somewhere in Riverdale.

Veronica picks Betty up one morning to grab lunch together. “It’s been ages since we had a real discussion” she had said on the phone.

Veronica tells her all about New-York. She shows her pictures of everything she bought while shopping, shows her a few selfie Archie and she took.

They talk about Archie’s idea to buy a little apartment there to split their time more evenly. They would never leave Riverdale, but Archie thinks that having their own apartment in the City could only be a good thing for them. Veronica agrees it’s a great idea for the business. They even could rent it when neither of them has to be there.   

After the starters, Betty clears her throat.

“and… what did the doctor say?” she whispers. She knows that it is a sensitive subject for her friend.

Veronica’s smile drops and she looks away.

“It’s not really good. I will spare you the details but basically… No mini Archibald or mini Ronnie for us. Not biologically at least. ”  

Betty’s heart drops. Life is so unfair; On one hand, Jughead and Betty never had problems to conceive - quite the contrary, as Arthur was a total surprise - and on the other, Archie and Ronnie have been trying for a long time without any success.

“Oh, Ron, I’m so sorry but you know, sometimes --”  

Veronica, eyes filled with tears, interrupts Betty with a wave of her hand.

“It’s life, Betts. Please, don’t…”

“Yeah, sure, sorry”

Veronica drinks her glass of water in one go. When she puts the glass back on the table, it is as if they hadn’t mentioned the appointment Archie and she had gone to.

“Okay, Betty. I also had an appointment with Jake. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this but hear me out, okay? He loved Jug’s book. He’s gonna publish it as soon as he can. When I arrived, he had already speeded up the whole process.”

Betty nods. Of course, Jughead’s book was good, there was no way it wasn’t. Jughead has a way with words.

“I have a copy of Jughead’s draft. The one he sent to the editor. He’s probably gonna kill me if he knows what I’m doing, but whatever.” she explains while taking the printed version from her bag. She hands it to Betty.

“Here, I want you to have it. You definitely should read it, Betty.”    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated :)


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